


Even if it Takes Forever (Or a Million Different Tries)

by Lesbian_Valkyrie



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Post-Episode: s07e22 Chosen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28869654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesbian_Valkyrie/pseuds/Lesbian_Valkyrie
Summary: Buffy and Faith can't admit their feelings, leaving the Scoobies with no choice but to brilliantly attempt to set them up.
Relationships: Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43





	Even if it Takes Forever (Or a Million Different Tries)

**Author's Note:**

> This is the closest I can get to writing slow burn (yes I know it's only 7000 words) because I get frustrated. But whatever, it turned out kinda cute I think.
> 
> Trigger warning: descriptions of an anxiety attack!

“We were sparring earlier today, and she wound up pinning me to the floor. And the way she was looking at me, I swear, my heart couldn’t even take it. And she’s just so…” Buffy trailed off.

Willow gave her an encouraging smile. 

It had been nearly three years since Sunnydale, and Buffy Summers was now done baking and in love. It had taken about a year for her to readjust and get the slayer school set up. But now she was living in Cleveland running a slayer boarding school with her best friends. And Faith. Buffy and Faith had worked out their differences once and for all and they were good friends, finally. But somewhere along the line, Buffy had fallen and fallen hard. She had spent the last few years silently pinning over her fellow slayer, confiding only in her best friend.

But Buffy’s crush was no secret. Even before Buffy had told her, Willow knew. As did every other person who had ever seen the two of them together. But still, Willow did her job as Buffy’s best friend and listened to Buffy go on about Faith.

“Did you ever notice that when she’s concentrating really hard on something, Faith does that cute thing where she sticks her tongue out just a little? It’s soooo adorable! And the way she twirls her hair around her finger while she’s reading, oh my god...”

“Buff, do you think maybe Faith feels the same way you do?” Willow asked her friend for probably the 20th time.

Buffy frowned. “I wish. But she’s all cool and one-night-standy. But she’s so incredible. Anyone would be so lucky to have her.”

Willow sighed. Buffy could be awfully thick sometimes.

“She’s so-”

  
  


“...fuckin’ gorgeous. And she doesn’t even seem to notice that she’s pretty much a human goddess. Don’t get me wrong, she’s such an irritating know-it-all, but on her, it works.”

In the kitchen downstairs, Faith and Xander were having a conversation very similar to the one Buffy and Willow were having in Buffy’s room. While Willow had become Buffy’s confident about her not-so-secret crush, Xander had become Faith’s.

“Maybe you should, just a suggestion here, ask her out? I mean, what’s the worst thing that could happen?” Xander said with a shrug.

Faith shot him a dangerous look.

“Hey, hey, just a suggestion,” he backed away, hands raised in a ‘please don’t kill me’ position.

“Look, Xan, we’ve been over this already. Buffy is my friend. Finally. I’m not going to mess it up. She’s too important to me. Besides, what’s the point? She clearly doesn’t feel the same way. As for the worst thing that could happen, she could totally beat me to a pulp, kick me out, and then I’d wander around the streets and probably get eaten by some demon that feeds on heartbroken souls!”

“Ok. One, that would never happen. And two, are you so sure she doesn’t feel the same?”

“Yep. Never in a million years would B ever think of me like that. I’ve spent the last couple years getting to know all that there is to know about her, and she doesn’t go for people like me. Chicks, sure. Me, never. Which is so frustrating because she drives me insane but I love her,” Faith continued with her ode to Buffy.

That evening, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Giles, and Andrew sat around the dining room table.

“So you all know why we’re here, right?” Willow asked once everyone was seated.

“Because Buffy and Faith are hopelessly in love with each other but too stupid and caught up in their own heads to realize that the other loves them too?” Dawn asked.

“Bingo!” Willow pointed at Dawn.

Giles cleared his throat. “I was informed that this was a business meeting. I prefer not to meddle in all of your love lives please and thank you.”

“But Giles, we need you!” Willow put on her best begging face, puppy eyes and a pout included.

Giles rolled his eyes and cleaned his glasses, but remained seated if only to make sure that the plan stayed completely safe and magic free.

“Yeah, the whole thing is getting kinda out of hand. Faith turns into a complete wreck every time she talks to Buffy. I think she’s on the verge of completely losing it. Don’t tell her I said that,” Xander chimed in.

“And Buffy is the same,” Willow added. “Every single day I have to listen to her talk about what she and Faith did that day. And sit there while she talks about the way Faith eats apples or something like that.”

“Have you tried the delicate art of gentle nudges?” Andrew suggested. He was invited to this meeting because of his romantic knowledge and also because the Scoobies had gotten pretty used to having him around, and meetings just didn’t feel the same without him.

“We nudge, they don’t budge,” Willow sighed.

“Not to mention the fact that every time I suggest that Buffy might like her back, Faith looks like she either thinks I’m crazy, or she wants to bite my head off. Probably both,” Xander added.

“And I know that Buffy is too dumb to notice gentle nudges. That girl is useless,” Dawn said.

“Big push it is!” Andrew exclaimed.

“I’ve got an idea,” Dawn answered with a smirk.

It turned out that Dawn’s idea required a touch of magic. The perfectly safe, very simple, no problems kind, of course. And though Giles protested, the magic was harmless, so the plan was a go.

It had been a long afternoon, and Buffy was looking forward to going to her room, taking a shower, and relaxing by herself for the rest of the evening. She stepped into the elevator and watched the doors begin to close behind her. Just before they closed, Faith slipped into the elevator.

“Hey, B!” Faith smiled.

Buffy’s heart sped up a bit. “Hi, Faith. You’re headed to your room too?”

Faith nodded and Buffy pressed the button for the third floor, where both of their rooms were located.

Slowly, the elevator started its ascent.

Faith turned to Buffy. “So, uh, how were the girls today?”

Buffy opened her mouth to answer, but just then the elevator lurched and stopped suddenly. But the doors didn’t open. The number showed that they were approaching the second floor. The elevator was stuck.

“Damnit,” Buffy hissed. “I was really looking forward to a shower and my warm pajamas.”

“I’m sure we won’t be stuck here for too long,” Faith replied, trying to sound confident despite the waver in her voice.

Buffy pulled out her phone to try and call for help. No signal. “Do you have a signal?” she asked.

“I don’t have my phone. I had just gone downstairs because Dawn needed help finding some book. No clue why she didn’t just ask someone else instead of making me take the long journey downstairs.”

Buffy pushed the elevator’s help button, but there was no response. She sighed. “I guess we’ll just have to wait for a bit,” Buffy groaned.

“Buffy…” Faith called out weakly.

Buffy looked away from the help button that she had been fiddling with. Faith looked a bit pale, and she was breathing heavily and shaking slightly.

“Buffy, I can’t-I can’t breathe,” Faith cried. She was trying to breathe, but there was little air flowing into her lungs. Things seemed fuzzy and she could feel her hands shaking. The tiny elevator was closing in. 

Not a moment later, Buffy’s strong arms were wrapped around Faith. She helped the younger girl sit down, slowly. Buffy’s hand was rubbing circles on Faith’s back, while Faith squeezed her other hand tightly.

“You’re ok. Take deep breaths,” Buffy said soothingly.

Faith was crying now, tears streaming down her face. She hated to be so weak. Faith was going to die in this tiny elevator, crying in front of Buffy Summers like an idiot.

Buffy helped Faith calm down, leading her through deep breaths.

“Faith, tell me 5 things you see,” Buffy said gently.

Faith gulped and looked around. “Umm, you. And my boots. The elevator buttons, the door, and the floor.”

“4 things you feel.”

“Your hand, the floor.” Faith paused and ran a hand over her pants, and then through Buffy’s hair. “My pants and your hair.”

“3 things you hear,” Buffy coaxed.

“Your voice, and your breathing. And my voice.”

“2 things you smell.”

“Peach shampoo,” Faith muttered and she breathed in the smell of Buffy’s shampoo, smiling faintly. “And that lemon cleaning stuff.”

“And one thing you taste.”

“Uhh, chocolate. Stole one from Dawnie.”

Faith had calmed down significantly, her breathing now somewhat back to normal. But Buffy still didn’t let go of her hand.

Faith was overtaken by a wave of exhaustion. She allowed herself to rest her head on Buffy’s shoulder. Buffy just held her close, lightly kissing the top of Faith’s head.

Five minutes later, the elevator began to move again. The doors opened when they finally reached the third floor. Willow was standing there, watching. She hoped that the time completely alone would give Buffy and Faith a good chance to talk, and maybe get a sense of the other’s feelings. Maybe even some kissing. After all, they were in there for a good 45 minutes.

What she was not expecting to see, was Buffy and Faith sitting in the corner, Buffy’s arms wrapped around Faith while she whispered in her ear. Faith’s head resting on Buffy’s shoulders, and her face tear-stained. She watched as Buffy helped Faith to her feet. Buffy wrapped an arm around Faith’s waist, allowing the other girl to lean on her.

“Uh, Faith are you ok?” Willow asked.

“What took so long, Will? And why was there no response to the help button? We were in there way longer than we should’ve been,” Buffy said angrily. She shook her head. “Whatever. Fix it, please. Faith, I’ll walk you back to your room, ok?”

Buffy led Faith down the hall, leaving Willow wondering what exactly had happened in the elevator.

Buffy walked Faith down the hall and to her room. Luckily, Faith had left it unlocked. Buffy always thought it was dumb that she did that, but Faith would argue that there was no point in locking the door if she’d only be gone for five minutes. Now, Buffy was thankful for Faith’s sometimes careless ways.

As soon as they stumbled through the door, Faith made a beeline for the bathroom. Buffy closed and locked the door, and then quickly followed the other slayer. She found Faith hunched over the toilet, retching.

“Oh my god, Faith!” Buffy cried. She leaned down next to the brunette and carefully pulled her hair back.

Faith looked at Buffy, eyes full of tears, face covered in sweat, breathing heavily.

“Ok, it’s ok,” Buffy whispered. “Are you done?” She gestured to the toilet.

Slowly, Faith nodded and stood up. Buffy flushed the toilet and led Faith out of the bathroom.

Faith changed into sweatpants and an old t-shirt, while Buffy got her a wet towel and a glass of cold water.

It was only 8, but Faith was exhausted. She allowed Buffy to wipe her face with the wet towel, and help her into bed. Faith hated being weak, but Buffy didn’t seem to mind. And Faith was too tired to protest, so she allowed Buffy to take care of her.

Later that evening, there was a knock on Willow’s door. She opened it to see a pissed looking Buffy.

“Buff, hi! Are you ok? Is Faith ok? What happened?”

Buffy stepped inside and plopped down in an armchair. “What the hell, Willow?” she asked angrily. “Why did nobody respond to the help button? And how did you not realize sooner that the elevator had stopped? Nobody noticed and reported it? This is a huge building, with tons of people in it, and only two elevators!”

“I-I, uhhh. It won’t happen again,” Willow managed to squeak. It was rare that Buffy got this mad.

“It better not. Faith has anxiety, alright! She doesn’t like to talk about it, so nobody here knows except for me and Giles. Being trapped in an elevator can be terrifying, and she had a full-blown panic attack because of it!”

“Oh, Buffy, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Luckily, I was there, otherwise she’d have been freaking out all by herself. Or worse, in front of a student or someone she doesn’t really know. I hated seeing her like that, Will. She was so helpless and fragile. And it just broke my heart because I couldn’t fix it. I did all I could, but I just wanted to make it better.”

“Faith is lucky to have a friend like you,” Willow said comfortingly. “How’s she doing now?”

“She’s sleeping. She’ll be fine in the morning. And she’ll probably play it off like it was no big deal. Can you just make sure nobody says anything to her about it? She’ll probably be pretty embarrassed, and nosy students pestering her about it is only going to make it worse.”

“Yeah, ok. She’s asleep at 8:30?”

Buffy nodded. “She was exhausted. I’m going to go check on her. I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up. I just hope she doesn’t shut down and push me away tomorrow,” Buffy sighed.

The next morning, another meeting was held. It was early, so most of the girls weren’t up yet, seeing as it was also Saturday. This time, they gathered in Giles’ office. It was a touch small for the five of them, but it worked alright.

“So, attempt number one was a giant flop,” Willow started.

“Well, maybe not giant. I saw Buffy and Faith together in the kitchen, and they were looking super friendly and extra flirty if you know what I mean,” Xander answered.

The comment earned him a slap on the arm from Dawn.

“I guess it’s good that the experience brought them closer together. But Buffy was so mad, and more worried than I’ve seen her in years,” Willow continued.

“I knew that Faith had a history of panic attacks and anxiety from her file, but I haven’t checked it since she first came to Sunnydale, given that she is an adult and it is none of my business. We all should know to be more mindful in these schemes, including any potential triggers,” Giles added.

“Giles, did you just say ‘we’?” Dawn asked enthusiastically. “So you’re completely in on this? Yes!” She cheered and did a little fist pump.

Giles shook his head and cleaned his glasses. “Slip of the tongue,” he explained. But he was smiling. Really, he just wanted Buffy and Faith to be happy. It was clear that they made each other happy, but they just needed a bit of a push. So, like the great father figure he was, Giles had reluctantly become part of the plan to set up the two original slayers.

“Well, we have learned one thing from this attempt,” Andrew began. “We need them to be alone with no stressful factors. And so I have a brilliant, beautiful, enchanting, romantic-”

“Just tell us your idea already!” Dawn, Xander, and Willow interrupted simultaneously.

“Yes, please do hurry Andrew. We all have places to be very soon. I, for example, need to be here. But without all of you here so that I may work,” Giles said pointedly.

“Ok, ok. I was thinking we could send them on a picnic! Think about it. Some quality relaxed time for just the two of them. Tension bubbling, a romantic setting. They both reach for something at the same time, their hands brush. And then they both lean in and-”

“Yes Andrew, we get the point,” Giles interrupted.

“So we’re sending Buffy and Faith on a date?” Dawn asked to confirm.

“Yeah, but without them knowing it’s a date,” Willow answered.

“Alright! Nothing is going on tonight, right?” Xander questioned.

Willow shook her head.

“I’ll get started on the romantic picnic dinner prep!” Andrew squealed and rushed out of the office.

“Now we’ve just gotta find a way to get them to go out,” added Dawn.

The plan was simple. Willow would convince Buffy and Xander would convince Faith to go out slaying. They would wind up going together of course, but when they got to the graveyard, they would find a beautiful picnic set up for them, courtesy of Dawn and Andrew. And from there, it was a simple date.

Getting Buffy and Faith to go out slaying was far easier than they had expected. The two original slayers had been practically inseparable all day. If there was one good thing to come out of Faith’s panic attack, it was that she was certainly letting Buffy in a bit more. Buffy had been there when Faith woke up in the morning. She had made her breakfast (even though it was just cereal and slightly burnt toast) and done all she could to help Faith in any and every way.

So when Willow said there was a mess up in the schedule and someone needed to patrol that night, Buffy and Faith were more than happy to go. The team who was actually scheduled to patrol, Vi, Shannon, Zara, and Izzy, were given an unexpected night off.

Buffy had been spending the whole day looking for any and every excuse to spend time with Faith. Her friends seemed wrapped up enough in something else, and she only had one class to teach that day. That morning, Faith had luckily been glad to see Buffy, though she seemed a bit shy. It didn’t take long for the younger slayer to return to her witty, flirty self. Buffy and Faith had spent the morning training, only to get distracted by a very involved ping pong tournament between Vi and Rona. For a while, they had played doubles against the other slayers, beating them 5 wins to 2. Vi and Rona were excellent slayers, but nobody could take on the chosen two. Buffy forced herself to ignore the way her heart fluttered when Faith would casually drape her arm around her, or hug her when they won. 

After lunch, Buffy was disappointed to split for class. She and Faith each had their respective classes, keeping them from spending the afternoon together. So when Willow came to ask Buffy to patrol with Faith that night, the blonde slayer was overly excited. She found herself missing Faith’s closeness, even after just a few hours.

“Huh, it’s pretty quiet tonight, wonder why Red asked us to patrol,” Faith commented as she and Buffy walked through the mostly empty graveyard.

“I feel like I remember asking Vi to watch Izzy tonight, but maybe that’s later this week,” Buffy answered with a shrug. “Either way, it is good to have someone out every night.”

“Yeah, it’s just kinda dull is all.”

“You don’t wanna spend time with me?” Buffy teased, putting on her signature pout.

“Course I wanna spend time with ya, B. I’m just saying we could be cuddled up watching some movie at home instead of you freezing your ass off out here because you don’t know how to dress properly in Ohio!”

Buffy blushed. Faith wasn’t generally a big cuddler, but as of late, she seemed to give in a little bit more, allowing Buffy to share her blanket and just be closer to her in general. It was driving Buffy crazy, and only making her fall further in love with the brunette.

“Here, you’re shivering. Can’t have the oldest living slayer turning into a popsicle,” Faith said as she took off her coat and gently draped it around Buffy’s shoulders.

Buffy put it on, grateful for the extra warmth, and also for the fact that the jacket smelled like Faith. “Why is it so chilly in April?”

“Maybe because you didn’t bring any form of jacket or sweatshirt and it’s night,” Faith pointed out.

Buffy opened her mouth to respond but instead found herself looking over Faith’s shoulder at what appeared to be a fancy picnic spread.

Faith turned to look at where Buffy was staring. “Huh, fancy spread. Some poor guy probably set it up and didn’t get his girl here.”

“Who sets up a picnic in a graveyard anyway?” Buffy asked.

Faith just shrugged, and they moved on with their patrol.

When they got home a couple of hours later, Willow was waiting near the door.

“How’d it go?” she asked excitedly.

“Uh, fine. Pretty quiet. Just a couple vamps,” Buffy answered, looking slightly confused.

“You didn’t...see anything? Make any stops?”

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look of confusion.

“Well, we did see this abandoned picnic, which was a little weird,” Buffy shrugged.

Willow suppressed a groan.

Sunday morning, everyone had gathered in Giles’ office once again.

“Plan two was another bust,” Willow sighed.

“Was it though? Sure they ignored our beautiful and romantic setup, but at least they spent time together. That’s always good,” Andrew offered.

“Yes well, perhaps the next plan should be a bit more thought out,” Giles responded.

“I have an idea!” Xander piped up.

Dawn shot him down immediately. “Giles just said ‘more thought out’, did he not?”

“Ok elevator girl,” Xander rolled his eye.

“My turn! My turn!” Willow exclaimed. “Magic is allowed, right?”

“Within reason. What are you thinking?” Giles questioned.

“Monday movie night!”

Monday movie nights had become somewhat of a tradition among the Scoobies. Though most times they wouldn’t watch the movie, generally getting distracted by a dumb party game. Such as magical truth-or-dare, as Willow had planned. Magical truth-or-dare was always fun. A simple potion forced you to answer the question honestly, and some simple tricks made for pretty fun dares. Dawn once had to walk around with green hair for a week as a result of the game.

It took hardly any convincing to get Buffy and Faith to join in on movie night. It seemed that their closeness from the previous day had carried over, seeing as Willow had found them in the gym, seemingly trying some crazy gymnastics flips and laughing. The two of them were so good together. How was it that everyone saw it except for them?

Everything was set up for that night. Snacks and drinks had been prepared, movie to be unwatched had been picked, and everyone had begun to settle in. Willow and Dawn shared a look upon noticing that Faith had sat down next to Buffy, an arm slung over the other girl’s shoulders, Buffy snuggling into her side.

“The movie for tonight is The Princess Bride!” Dawn exclaimed.

“Didn’t we watch that not that long ago?” Faith asked.

“Yeah, but it’s a classic,” Dawn argued.

Faith shrugged. “I like the giant guy, Fezzik.”

They had only made it halfway through the movie before Willow got restless and turned it off.

“Hey!” Xander exclaimed. “I was watching that!”

“Yeah, but we’ve all seen it before. Who wants to play truth or dare?”

“And that would be my cue to leave,” Giles said, slowly getting up from the armchair. He wasn’t exactly fond of playing games until late hours, seeing as his age was no longer in his prime. Not to mention that he had no interest in all of the Scoobies’ personal lives. He would surely hear all about the events in the morning.

Andrew shrugged. “I’m in.”

“I’ll play too!” Buffy piped up.

Dawn and Xander also agreed to play, forcing Faith to begrudgingly sink off the sofa and join the circle that they had formed.

Willow pulled out the truth potion and placed it in the center of the circle. “I’ll go first,” she announced. “Xander, truth or dare?”

“Truth. I’m an honest man.” Xander reached for the bottle of potion and took a small sip.

“When we were 7, did you or did you not steal my turquoise colored pencil?” Willow asked, looking him directly in the eyes.   
“I… uh… yeah. I needed it to color the sky, but I lost it and told you that Mandy took it,” Xander admitted.

“Ha! I knew it!” Willow exclaimed.

“Why were you coloring the sky turquoise and not plain blue?” Faith questioned.

Xander simply shook his head. He had answered his one question.

After a few more rounds that consisted of Faith doing a handstand for a full 5 minutes, Buffy turning Andrew’s skin purple for an hour, and Dawn admitting to her first kiss being with a vampire, the turn landed on Willow again.

She turned to Buffy. “Buffy, truth or dare?”

Buffy noticed the mischievous glint in her best friend’s eyes and the way she was looking between her and Faith. Buffy shook her head slightly, signaling to Willow not to do it, not to expose her feelings for Faith in front of everyone. She could tell that’s what the witch wanted to do. Buffy gulped. “Dare,” she finally stated. No truth potion for Buffy. Too risky.

“I dare you… to kiss Faith,” Willow said with a smirk.

The color drained from Buffy’s face. That was worse than being forced to admit her feelings. She couldn’t kiss Faith, because not only would Faith hate it, but Buffy wouldn’t be able to deal with kissing her only once and then never again. And she couldn’t have their first and only kiss be because of some stupid game. So Buffy did the unexpected. She pecked Faith on the cheek, and then quickly stood up and bolted out of the room, tears threatening to leak from her eyes.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” Willow said quickly, before standing up and chasing after Buffy.

Faith refused to look up from her lap, cheek still tingling from where Buffy had kissed her. A moment later she mumbled some excuse about being tired and headed off to her room to do some sulking of her own.

“Buffy?” Willow called, knocking on her door. “Buff, please talk to me.”

“Go away Willow,” Buffy muttered through her tears.

“Oh Buffy, I’m so sorry. Please let me in.”

A moment passed, and then, slowly, Buffy opened the door and ushered Willow inside, closing the door behind her. Willow wrapped her arms around her friend, though Buffy just turned away from her.

“Why would you do that to me, Will? You know how I feel about her!”

“Exactly. And I know you’ve felt that way about her for a long time. It’s hard to listen to you beat yourself up over this girl and not do anything about it. Plus, I really do think she feels the same way. I was just trying to get you to make a move, nudge the two of you together,” Willow explained.

“Don’t you get it though? I can’t just kiss her for a game and not have it mean anything. If I only ever kiss her once, it has to mean something.”

“Buffy…”

“Now she’s never going to talk to me again! She probably thinks I hate her. Oh god, I can’t ever look at her again. And after the other day, she had just started letting me in a bit more. Willow, it’s all ruined now!” Buffy cried.

Willow just sat there and comforted her friend while she cried. It was all she could do now.

Tuesday evening after classes, everyone gathered once again, this time in the empty gym.

“Well, my plan didn’t exactly work out,” Willow groaned. “Buffy’s super upset and convinced that Faith hates her.”

“And Faith won’t talk to me. I only saw her briefly this morning before her weapons class,” Xander added.

“I’ve seen them both, but they can’t so much as be in the same room together,” Dawn said.

“Perhaps we should give them a few days, let them work it out on their own?” Giles suggested.

“We can’t do that! We were so close! Plus we have to at least fix what we messed up. They have to be friends again,” Willow protested.

“Can I give another suggestion?” Andrew piped up.

“Andrew you had your turn already. It’s my turn to have a plan,” Xander cut in.

“Actually Xander, I may have an idea if you don’t mind,” Giles interrupted.

“Giles has a plan? To set up Buffy and Faith? What a day today is!” Dawn squealed.

“Yes well, I don’t like to see either of the girls so upset. I simply think they need to be able to work together without refusing to be in the same room or distracting everyone else with the tension between them. I have noticed quite a few of the younger slayers making bets on the two of them,” Giles explained.

“See? It would be better for everyone if Buffy and Faith finally got together, so we can’t give up now,” Willow said.

“Yes well, the first step is to get them talking again. If they are put together all day tomorrow, surely they will have no choice. Both girls will have to put the interest of the students first.” Giles began to explain his plan.

The next morning, Giles called both Buffy and Faith to his office. Buffy arrived first, but upon seeing Faith enter, attempted to leave.

“Buffy,” Giles simply said.

Upon hearing his voice, Buffy turned back around.

“Now I am unsure what has happened with the two of you,” Giles began, looking from Buffy to Faith, meeting each of them in the eye. “But you do need to be able to work together, despite whatever row or issues you may have. I’m assigning the both of you to teach this morning’s technique workshop, in addition to the afternoon training that you had already been scheduled to do together. In summary, I know that you are capable of getting along, and so as your superior, I am telling you both to work together today and resolve whatever it is between you that is putting everyone on edge.”

Buffy blushed and stared at her feet, unsure what to say.

Faith nodded. “See ya for the workshop, B.” She turned and left, leaving Buffy in Giles’ office.

Once she was out of earshot, Buffy began to protest. “Giles please don’t make me work with her today. I don’t have an issue with her, it’s all me and it’s more of a personal thing.”

“Buffy whatever it is, it’s enough for everyone to notice. I do assure you that you can talk to me about personal matters.”

Buffy sighed. “I know. You really can’t shift the schedule today?”

“You must understand that I cannot. I hope you and Faith work this out. I do recommend talking to her.”

Buffy offered a weak smile and nod, then left the office to get ready for the workshop.

The workshops were usually one of Faith’s favorite things to teach. She and Kennedy were supposed to lead the one that morning, but now Buffy was slated to teach it with her, so Faith supposed she’d just have to work around the way fighting with Buffy got her oh so riled up. The workshops generally had about 50 girls and would start with the teachers doing a demonstration, followed by running through a routine and a few new moves, as well as preservation and blocking techniques.

Faith was in the gym warming up when Buffy entered. Faith knew she was there but didn’t look away from the punching bag that she was hitting at a rapid pace. Maybe ignoring Buffy was childish, but Faith didn’t particularly care. She would talk to her during the workshop, and then again when they were forced to train together. And then she would go to her room and drink heavily, in an attempt to forget how much she loved the girl that she could never have. At least that was the plan.

The plan to ignore Buffy was of course foiled when Buffy walked right up to Faith’s punching bag and proceeded to talk directly to her.

“Faith? Umm, I’m sorry about what happened the other day,” Buffy started.

“Whatever, B. It was just a game. Didn’t realize kissing me was such a terrible option, especially during a game, but whatever. I mean, it’s not like you’ve kissed Andrew,” Faith replied, audible snark in her voice.

“But I did kiss Andrew in that one game of… oh. No, Faith! I never said kissing you would be terrible, I just…”

“What, B? What’s your deal? You didn’t say it would be terrible, but you sure as hell acted like it!”

“I’m sorry, ok! It was a game!”

“Yeah, you couldn’t kiss me for a game?”

“Did you want me to?”

Faith’s eyes widened. “I- no. No, I didn’t,” she lied. Clearly, she had wanted Buffy to kiss her. She wanted Buffy to want to kiss her, and more than once. She wanted Buffy to want her, to love her, to feel the same way that Faith felt. She wanted everything from Buffy. But now she had nothing. Nothing but awkward conversations and fleeting glances. At least before she’d had Buffy’s company and friendship.

Buffy’s face fell, and she just hoped Faith didn’t notice. “See? There’s no problem then,” she managed to say, tears brimming in her eyes. She knew Faith didn’t want her, but the rejection still hurt.

Buffy turned away from Faith, not wanting her fellow slayer to see her so upset. There was no way she would make it through the workshop. Buffy did the only thing that she could do when it came to difficult situations with Faith, she ran from the room, not noticing that Faith looked crestfallen and close to tears as well.

It was fifteen minutes before her class started when a crying Buffy came bursting into Willow’s classroom.

“Buffy, oh my god! What happened?” Willow cried out, shocked to see her best friend in such a state.

“F-Faith she… she doesn’t want me. I-I knew it b-but…” Buffy choked through her tears.

Willow rushed forward to capture her friend in a hug, closing the classroom door in the process. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asked gently.

And so Buffy did. She told Willow about talking to Giles that morning and how she had straight up asked Faith whether she had wanted Buffy to kiss her. Willow just listened, wondering how everything could’ve gone so wrong.

Eventually Buffy had finished, and Willow spoke up. “I see how everything got so crossed. But Buffy, have you maybe considered that Faith didn’t want you to kiss her for the same reason you didn’t want to kiss her? Or have you considered that she maybe lied? Wouldn’t you have lied too, if you were already fighting?”

“I didn’t want to kiss her for a game because I love her too much for that. And I asked her a direct question.”

“Did you tell her how you felt, or did you yell at her and make her think you were setting her up for the fall?”

“I… No, I didn’t tell her. But it’s not like I rejected her. She’s the one who rejected me.”

“Well, maybe that’s what she thought you wanted to hear.”

Buffy opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by a student showing up for class.

“Maggie, tell everyone that class is canceled this morning, alright?” Willow told the student before sending her back out the door. She turned back towards Buffy, raising her eyebrow in signal that she was waiting for an answer.

“Why would I want her to reject me?”

“Did she even reject you if you never told her how you felt?” Willow pointed out.

“I mean, I guess not.”

“Buffy, trust me. I’ve seen how that girl looks at you. She loves you. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Don’t you want to know for sure if she rejected you, or do you want to spend months replaying that conversation in your head?”

“I need to talk to Faith,” Buffy replied, pulling out of Willow’s grasp.

“Yes, I think you do. Now go find her.”

Buffy nodded, tears now nonexistent. She was going to find Faith, and she was going to finally tell her how she felt.

Buffy ran to the gym, only to find Vi and Rona leading the workshop.

“Vi, Rona, where’s Faith?” Buffy asked loudly, interrupting the whole class.

“No clue. We were supposed to be off this morning, but she saw us upstairs and told us to cover,” Vi answered.

Buffy groaned and left the gym. She checked Faith’s room and searched the whole grounds, asking nearly everyone she saw. Buffy then went into town and checked all of their usual hangouts. She had been running around for nearly two hours when she finally spotted her. Faith was sitting on top of a tombstone in one of the town's handful of graveyards, apparently, it had to be the last one Buffy checked. It was broad daylight, but Faith sat anyway, looking lost in thought.

“Faith?” Buffy called out.

“B?” Faith turned around, confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking all over for you. Look, I have to apologize.”

“No need,” Faith responded nonchalantly.

“No, there is a need. I… oh this is harder than I thought it would be.” Buffy found herself at loss for words, so instead, she took a few steps forward until she was standing directly in front of Faith, their noses practically touching. Buffy reached over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind Faith’s ear.

“Buffy…”

“Faith, what did you mean when you said you didn’t want me to kiss you?”

Faith gulped. “I lied.”

“I only didn’t kiss you because it was a dare. I love you too much for our first kiss to be just a dare chalked up to nothing. I need it to mean something.”

Faith didn’t respond. Not with words. Instead, she leaned in slowly, giving Buffy a chance to back away. But Buffy was leaning in too. Their lips finally met, slowly, gently. It was light as a feather, but only for a moment. Faith couldn’t hold back any longer. She firmly pressed her lips to Buffy’s, moving them against hers. Buffy tangled her hands in Faith’s hair, while Faith’s arms snaked around Buffy’s waist. They kissed slowly as if they had all the time in the world. Faith stood up off the tombstone in an attempt to get closer to Buffy. Buffy’s tongue brushed Faith’s lip, causing her to make a small noise in the back of her throat. Their bodies were pressed flush against each other, yet each girl was still trying to move in closer. Faith was pressed against the tombstone that she had previously been sitting on. Tongues darted, eventually meeting, causing both of them to moan slightly. Through that kiss, they said everything. All the pain and hurt melted away, the tension of the past few days was nothing but a memory, and the love that they both poured into the kiss served as a promise. It was everything that Buffy had ever dreamed of but multiplied by at least a thousand. With one kiss, Buffy knew she’d never want to kiss anyone else ever again, not if kissing Faith felt like this.

Reluctantly, they both had to pull away. Buffy’s face was flushed and her lips were swollen, her heartbeat racing faster than ever before. Faith, though trying to look composed, was just as flustered.

“So, that meant something?” Buffy finally asked.

“It meant everything,” Faith responded, already leaning in for another kiss, which Buffy was more than happy to reciprocate.

That evening called for yet another meeting, this time held in the kitchen.

“So uh, has anyone seen Buffy and Faith since this morning?” Andrew asked.

“Well, Buffy got all frazzled and upset after their misunderstanding in the gym this morning, and I told her to finally go tell Faith how she felt,” Willow explained.

“Vi and Rona took over the workshop this morning, though they did tell me that Buffy came by looking for Faith,” Andrew added.

“One of the slayers said she saw them sneak in the backdoor together, all giggly and holding hands, plus Faith’s door has been locked for hours now,” Xander said.

“Oh yeah, and Shannon was in town on a grocery run earlier and said she saw Buffy and Faith kissing in the graveyard!” Dawn exclaimed.

“Thus, I think we can infer that my plan worked,” Giles said, sounding very proud.

“No way! I was the one who told Buffy to go after Faith, and your plan caused them to fight more. Plus, they didn’t even teach the class or train, so your plan was a total failure,” Willow protested.

“Fight more? Willow, your plan was the reason they were fighting in the first place!” Dawn interrupted.

“Well hey, at least I didn’t cause any panic attacks,” Willow shot back.

“Guys, can’t we just be happy that Buffy and Faith are finally together. I think it was a combined effort, due to all of our plans,” Andrew stated calmly.

“Andrew you only say that because you know your plan was the worst,” Xander responded.

“You didn’t even have a plan!” Dawn yelled to Xander.

“Hey, it was supposed to be my turn next.”

“But of course, that was not needed because things have finally worked out. Due to my suggestions I may add,” Giles stated.

“Giles I thought you hated this whole thing. Now you want to claim you won?” Willow questioned.

“Yes well, I was unaware that this was a competition. Rather, a way to stop the constant tension and rumors and bring happiness to both Buffy and Faith. I am just happy to have succeeded.”

“We’re all happy to have succeeded because this was a group effort! And we’re just happy that they are finally happy!” Andrew chimed in.

Begrudgingly, everyone agreed. It didn’t matter how or who was responsible, Buffy and Faith were together, happy, and in love. Though each of them would always be proud of the role that they played, all of them believing that it had been them who tipped the scales. Even Andrew and Xander both knew they had helped. Years down the line, the plans were sure to get twisted, so it was impossible to know where credit was truly due.

Meanwhile, up in Faith’s room, Buffy and Faith lay naked and cuddled together. Buffy’s head lay on Faith’s heart, while Faith lazily traced patterns on Buffy’s arms.

“Buffy?” Faith whispered suddenly.

Buffy raised her head to look Faith directly in the eyes.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too, Faith,” Buffy whispered back, moving so that she could gently kiss her.

And Buffy meant it. She loved Faith more than she had thought she ever could. She was everything. Buffy knew that as long as she lived, she could never love anyone else quite like she loved Faith. It was pure and deep and confusing yet so clear. She wondered why she had taken so long to make a move when Faith was so obviously it for her. But now that she knew, now that she had finally gotten the girl, she was never giving her up.

“B, why are you squeezing me so hard? Like, no need to go all ultra slayer here,” Faith mentioned.

Buffy loosened her grip, not realizing how tightly she was holding on. “Sorry. I just can’t believe it took so long. And now I know I’ll never let you go. Faith, don’t leave me?”

“Buffy, a part of me has been yours since we were seventeen. A part of me has always loved you. And now all of me loves you. I’d be insane to leave you.”

“A part of me was always yours too. I’ve been in love with you for years now, and god, this feels like a dream.”

Faith pinched Buffy’s arm.

“Hey! Ow!” Buffy cried.

“Not a dream, babe.”

Buffy pressed another searing kiss to Faith’s lips, rolling so she was fully back on top of her.

“I love you,” Faith muttered against Buffy’s lips. “I don’t care how long this took. You’re worth every second of waiting. I’d wait for you forever.”

“You don’t have to. I’m yours.”

**Author's Note:**

> Faith's anxiety attack is mainly based on my own experiences. I realize that not everyone experiences these attacks in the same way.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I love getting feedback, so please do let me know what you thought :)


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